PhD student: Mrs C.V. Ioniță

Promotors: Prof E.R. de Jong, Mrs E.E. Nauta, L.M.M. Royakkers

Duration: 1/5/2025 - 30/4/2029

Abstract:

The project aims to develop an ethical legal-framework to guide autonomous offshore vehicles (such as USVs and ROVs). The core research question is how liability should be allocated in scenarios involving autonomous vehicles. The approach is a legal-philosophical one, balancing legal considerations with ethical principles regarding decision-making (such as utilitarianism or deontology). The choice of methodology is (primarily) legal doctrinal scholarship: analysing the applicable EU liability and AI laws as well as relevant marine environmental regulations and identifying possible gaps in regulation. The research will tackle these gaps and inform the creation of a transparent and robust framework for autonomous offshore vehicles that complies with the existing laws and dominant legal principles in the EU.

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